Salman Rushdie, who spent years in hiding and under police protection after his novel The Satanic Verses prompted Iranian officials to call for his assassination, was stabbed in the neck on stage Friday during an event in Western New York. The 75-year-old was airlifted from Chautauqua Foundation, near Lake Erie, to a trauma center, where he underwent surgery. Mr Rushdie was on a ventilator, his agent, Andrew Wylie, said. The attack drew swift condemnation from world leaders and Mr Rushdie’s literary peers. The NYPD said at a press conference Friday that a 24-year-old suspect is in custody. Mr Wylie said in a statement that the author will likely lose an eye and has severed nerves in his arm and a damaged liver. “The news is not good,” the statement said. Police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Hadi Matar, of Fairview, NJ. He had gotten a pass to enter the institution’s 750-acre grounds, according to Michael Hill, Chautauqua’s president. Police have not said anything about the suspect’s motive. Mr Rushdie was scheduled to give a lecture at 10.45am. as part of the institution’s summer program. The topic was “More Than a Shelter: Redefining the American Home,” and Mr. Rushdie was to interview Henry Rees, the co-founder of a nonprofit organization that provides housing for writers facing persecution. The pair had just been introduced when, according to several attendees, a man dressed in black climbed onto the outdoor amphitheater stage and lunged at the author. From her seat at the right of the stage, Susan Toler said, the man could be seen punching Mr. Rushdie before Mr. Rushdie was knocked to the ground. For a few seconds, he said, the audience sat silent, stunned. “We’re all shocked, wondering, is this some weird joke?” said Ms. Toler, who attends the program every year with the family. Soon after, about a dozen people took to the stage and began to separate the two, with half the group holding the attacker and the other half keeping an eye on Mr. Rushdie. A doctor in the crowd immediately began to administer first aid. Video posted on social media in the aftermath of the attack shows a lone policeman at the scene with a dog, raising questions about the lack of security for such a prominent and controversial figure. A short video captures the scene in a lecture hall in western New York moments after author Salman Rushdie was stabbed. Rushdie was airlifted to hospital for treatment. The man who confronted Rushdie on stage at the Chautauqua Foundation was arrested. The Globe and Mail “We were all wondering why there wasn’t security there … we saw Jesse Jackson speak here several years ago, and there was very visible security that day around the auditorium,” Ms. Toller recalled, noting that was not the case. Friday. Paul Evans, who travels from California every year to watch the program, also marveled at the lack of security, given decades of threats against Mr. Rushdie. “He just got on the scene,” he said of the striker. “No one was standing around wearing sunglasses and talking on their sleeves.” Although it is technically a gated community, Mr Evans described the site as a “soft spot”. In addition to permanent members, guests can attend on day passes. “But there are no metal detectors and that sort of thing,” Mr Evans said. “We’ve had presidents here and they bring their own security – police, helicopter, satellite phones and all that. And there was never a problem. But, you know, all it takes is one person who slips through the cracks.” Anyone without a long-term card was turned away from campus Friday night. Officials said at a news conference Friday that a trooper and the New York State Sheriff’s Office had been assigned to the event before the attack and had arrested the suspect. Police said search warrants will be executed soon. Mr Rees suffered some facial injuries in the attack, and was treated and released. Mr. Rushdie, a former president of PEN America, has been a prominent spokesman for free expression. “We are deeply shocked by this horrific, violent attack on Salman Rushdie,” said Grace Westcott, president of PEN Canada, a non-profit organization that promotes literature, fights censorship and helps free persecuted writers from prison. “He has lived under the threat of death for over three decades and yet still writes books and speaks publicly. He has often said that while his case of being threatened by a government for what he had written was prominent and well-known, there are hundreds of other writers facing similar threats that are not well known. He knows he’s not alone – he’s just known.” The Satanic Verses it was considered blasphemous by many Muslims, who considered the book offensive to the Prophet Muhammad. In 1989, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Mr. Rushdie, who was subsequently placed under police protection by the British government. A Japanese translator of the book was stabbed to death in 1991. An Italian translator survived a knife attack. In 1993, the book’s Norwegian publisher was shot three times and survived. In 1992, Mr. Rushdie made his first public appearance postfatwa, at a PEN Canada benefit in his honor at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre. It was an unannounced appearance, under tight security. “There was a resounding gasp when he appeared on stage,” Ms Westcott said. Mr Rushdie continued to make scheduled public appearances in 1995. In 2017, he appeared in Curb your enthusiasm episode mocking the fatwa against him. “Oh, I have to live my life,” she told The New York Times last year. The mission of the Chautauqua program is “to build bridges across difference,” Mr. Hill said at the press conference Friday afternoon. “I think the worst thing Chautauqua could do is walk away from this mission … and I don’t think Mr. Rushdie would want that either.” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, lead member of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riots, is scheduled to give a speech in the auditorium on Monday. With reports from Reuters and the Associated Press The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
